In many industries it is desirable to have a simple automated mechanism for picking up annular or at least primarily annular items from a stock of such items and depositing them on a conveyor or other transfer or production machines. For example, in the food industry it is necessary to deliver continuously and at a uniform flow rate wetted onion rings for breading and packaging for shipment to restaurants and food markets. In the past the onion rings have been wetted and delivered for breading by human operators. This often leads to less than uniform wetting and to a sporadic rather than uniform flow rate of the rings to the breading and packaging machines. The result of such handling is often improper breading, either too much or too little, and overloading of the breading machines, which leads to spillage, spoilage, clogging, and breaking of the onion rings; and the use of human operators adds considerably to the production cost.